B.C. doctors get new guidance on involuntary care for drug users [Video]

British Columbia clinicians have received new guidance about involuntary care for adults, including a directive that it cannot be used to prevent harmful “risk-taking” by people who use drugs whose behaviour is not related to mental impairment. 

The guidance from Dr. Daniel Vigo, B.C.’s first chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, is aimed at helping clinicians and others decide when involuntary admission is appropriate for people with both mental-health and substance-use disorders.

Vigo said in a news release that involuntary treatment “can be a tool to preserve life and treat the source of impairment” among those with such complex needs.

Health Minister Josie Osborne said the ongoing toxic drug crisis has led to a “small but growing number of people who are living with overlapping mental-health and substance-use challenges, as well as brain …